Don’t expect Bombers to take Alouettes lightly

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/08/2017 (2965 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Montreal Alouettes probably won’t be in the best mood on Thursday when they take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

The Als took a 38-6 beatdown courtesy of the Toronto Argonauts last week and seeing the Blue and Gold come to town won’t bring back positive memories either, considering how they blew a 40-28 lead in less than two minutes to the Bombers four weeks ago.

“They’re frustrated about (the comeback victory). They’re definitely coming back for vengeance. They’re not happy with how that game finished,” Bombers linebacker Sam Hurl said after practice Tuesday.

Wide receiver Ryan Lankford, who caught a touchdown pass with 44 seconds left in the Bombers’ Week 6 victory over the Als, is no stranger to the man leading the Montreal offence — Darian Durant. Lankford used to catch passes from Durant, as the two were teammates with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for two seasons. He said knowing Durant as he does, he believes the quarterback watched the tape of Montreal’s devastating loss to the Bombers the very next day and expects the 35-year-old quarterback to be at his best Thursday.

“He’s been in this game for a long time. He knows how to handle the wins and the losses,” Lankford said. “He’s going to be ready and he’s going to be on. We’re going to have to do everything on our side to win the game.”

Durant bounced back nicely after the heartbreaking loss at Investors Group Field with a solid performance against Toronto in Week 7 — throwing for 273 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in a 21-9 victory. However, last week was a completely different story in the blowout loss to the Argos. Durant and the Alouettes offence had their worst performance of the season. The veteran quarterback completed only 14 of 27 passes for 93 yards and threw an interception. Hurl, who spent 2012-14 with the Roughriders and Durant, said last week was an uncharacteristic performance by the veteran quarterback, and the Alouettes will give the Bombers everything they got on Thursday. The veteran linebacker said you try not to look at what happened in previous games because anything can happen in the current one.

“A team can come out at any week and be (winless) or they can be struggling like Ottawa (Redblacks) or anyone like that and they can come out with a killer game and crush somebody,” said Hurl, who has 34 tackles on the season. “You look at what Saskatchewan did to B.C. (41-8 win over the Lions in response to a 30-15 loss) so anything is possible in this league.”

Nichols and Harris recognized for strong Week 9 performances

Bombers quarterback Matt Nichols and running back Andrew Harris were named CFL top performers of the week for their impressive performances against the Edmonton Eskimos.

Nichols completed 32 of 40 passes for 390 yards and one touchdown, while adding 23 yards on three carries, including a TD, in the club’s 33-26 victory over the previously undefeated Eskimos.

Harris rushed for 105 yards on 11 carries while also catching eight passes for 120 yards. He’s the first running back since 2010 to catch and run for 100 yards in a game. He’s also the first Blue Bomber to achieve the feat since 2002.

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Nichols said he always views personal recognition as team recognition and credited the entire offence for his strong performance last week.

“Any time you’re recognized as an individual, there’s so many people that made plays for you and all that stuff, so it’s always good when guys are getting recognized. It means we’re doing the right things,” said Nichols.

Toronto Argonauts receiver S.J. Green was also named a top performer. He had 145 receiving yards and two touchdown catches in Toronto’s 38-6 victory over the Montreal Alouettes.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
Reporter

Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor.

Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.